The Hamburg Kunsthalle is presenting a major retrospective of Swedish artist Anders Zorn (1860-1920), who achieved international stardom in London, Paris, and the United States. The exhibition "Anders Zorn: Sweden's Superstar" runs from September 26 through January 25, 2026, featuring masterworks from European and American collections.
Zorn's mastery is immediately evident in his painting "Midnight," which draws viewers into an intimate scene of a young woman rowing across a lake during a bright Nordic summer night. The artist positions the viewer as if sitting in the stern of the wooden boat, watching as the woman glances over her shoulder, her blonde hair and strong arms illuminated in the late light. This work exemplifies many of Zorn's signature techniques, particularly his ability to capture water reflections, which became his trademark.
"He was especially gifted at depicting water in a lifelike way: he made reflections on water surfaces his trademark," explains Markus Bertsch, the exhibition's curator. The boat motif runs throughout Zorn's work, appearing not only in Swedish archipelago scenes but also in paintings of rowers in Istanbul, Algiers, and Hamburg. The painting also demonstrates Zorn's skill with original perspectives and his handling of light, which reflects his connection to Impressionism.
Born to a brewer's family in Mora, central Sweden, Zorn began studying at Stockholm's Academy of Arts at just 15 years old. He initially focused on watercolor painting rather than oils, achieving early success that encouraged him to continue in this medium. "Because he had quick success with it, he stuck with it," Bertsch notes. An early portrait of a woman in mourning attracted significant attention, and Zorn soon gained international recognition.
Zorn's early work already encompassed all his later subjects: landscapes that shift dynamically between proximity and distance, detailed accuracy and suggestion; folk scenes created in Spain showing a young couple who had just separated or two lovers in the blooming park of the Alhambra; images of working people, such as a worker in a tapestry workshop or a slipper seller; and portraits, including a wealthy patron watercolored in Lisbon, sitting regally in a blue chair with an aristocratic expression.
A crucial figure in Zorn's success was his wife Emma, whom he painted repeatedly and who served as his marketing strategist and "the essential driving force," according to the curator. Emma belonged to an upper-middle-class Jewish family in Stockholm, was well-connected, and provided the aspiring artist with important contacts. "The Reading Emma Zorn" from 1887 shows her absorbed in a newspaper, appearing relaxed and natural, wearing only a gold ring with an emerald as jewelry.
From 1888, the Zorn couple lived in Paris for eight years, where the painter befriended Impressionists including Renoir, Degas, and Max Liebermann, while receiving prizes and portrait commissions. Among Zorn's Impressionist-influenced works is the painting "Omnibus," whose passengers he artfully illuminated. The exhibition displays many masterworks from this period, including the portrait of a Parisienne in a green coat, the genre painting "In the Bakery," and the resolute nude portrait "Venus de la Villette," depicting "a simple woman who poses uninhibitedly in his studio, a person who stands firmly on the ground with both feet," as Bertsch describes.
In late 1891, Hamburg's Kunsthalle director Alfred Lichtwark commissioned Zorn to supplement his collection with Hamburg scenes. Zorn was the first painter of international stature to accept this invitation, creating watercolors of Hamburg's harbor featuring freight ships, tugboats, and small boats, but especially capturing the shimmering light on the Elbe River waves. Although Lichtwark delayed payment, he did acquire etchings by the artist, a large group of which are featured in the exhibition.
While Zorn rarely sold paintings in Germany, he achieved tremendous success as a portraitist in the United States, counting three presidents among his clients: William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Stephen Grover Cleveland. Cleveland's portrait, created in 1899 and now on loan from Washington's Smithsonian, prompted the satisfied head of state to reportedly say, "As for my ugly face, I think the artist has brushed it away in magnificent form."
Swedish royalty King Oscar II and Queen Sofia also commissioned Zorn portraits. In 1896, he and Emma returned to his birthplace of Mora, where he embraced local subjects, creating the dynamic "Midsummer Dance" populated with festively dressed people. His mastery of atmosphere is further demonstrated in "The Shepherdess," showing a young cowherd standing stoically in a pine forest, with a horn at her belt that she will use to call the animals together in the evening.
The scarlet apron worn by the girl in "The Shepherdess" shares the same color as the suit Anders Zorn wears in his final self-portrait from 1915, where the wealthy painter poses in a simple Swedish wooden house. This retrospective reveals the full scope of Zorn's artistic achievement, from his early watercolors to his mature oil paintings, establishing him as one of Sweden's most internationally successful artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
